Talk:Peter Gowan

Peter Gowan was a very active public speaker on economics and international relations. He has recently passed away and there have been a large number of obituaries published, including in the guardian.

There are a lot of people interested in updating his profile. I have created an initial page and will circulate to his friends, family and ex-colleagues to provide more detail on his work and why he was important.

I am his eldest son, Ivan Gowan.

I am sorry about your father but this article does not meet Wikipedia notability requirements. Death does not make someone who was not previously notable during their lifetime as notable unless the death itself was notable. ie a soldier who saves 10 lives and loses his own and is awarded the Medal of Honor. Also, it is highly discouraged for you to edit articles you have an affiliation to such as your father because it is hard to maintain a nuetral point of view. On a personal note, you don't need Wikipedia to save your Dad's memory in history. His memory will always live on in your family and in those he touched.--TParis00ap (talk) 22:03, 4 August 2009 (UTC) Reply

This is not intended to be a sentimental memory of his work. I have now updated the content considerably with lists of some of his works and links to the obituaries which have been written. Please review some of their content before making any decisions.

Tariq Ali commented that 'it is criminal that he doesn't have a wikipedia page already!'. Peter was a close colleague and friend of Tariq's and was very influencial within the radical political left in the UK and beyond. Tariq and other published authors intend to update this page with additional factual material.

Peter established the MA in International Relations at the MET and was one of the most well known published authors in the English language on Marxist theory and was a very senior member of the IMG (International Marxist Group).

Obituaries are not editted and notable references. Also, it seems with the additional work, you still do not meet Wikipedia:Author#Creative_professionals for notability, you're going to have to provide references that are verifiable. The work must be notable in it's field. If you can show independant reviews where the work was used as a referenced or important, that would work. Also, you're going to have to verify the work as his. Somehow your going to have to show that he participated or authored those novels. As far as the books he single-authored, this can be done by citing the book on Amazon or Borders ect. For the articles he participated in that were editted, you can cite the article where he is given credit.

You are still violating conflict of interest though and so would his colleagues if they editted the article. Not that it must be done by an outsider, but you're going to have to strictly maintain a nuetral point of view if you want to avoid the article being deleted.--TParis00ap (talk) 23:05, 4 August 2009 (UTC) Reply

Adding my third party opinion that this individual passes WP:PROF, though there is a conflict of interest present. I recommend editing to assure a npov rather than speedy deletion. -Falcon8765 (talk) 00:58, 5 August 2009 (UTC) Reply

Perhaps this should be a AfD instead of a speedy delete.--TParis00ap (talk) 02:04, 5 August 2009 (UTC) Reply

I removed the speedy. Major paper (Like the Guardian) obits are excellent WP:RS's and very strong indications of notability, 99+% decisive in WP:AFD deletion debates, and he would pretty clearly pass under WP:PROF too. WP:COI is best dealt with by editing, not deletion, and there is little inappropriate COI material here. We would be very happy to have eminent people like Tariq Ali (inspiration of both Rolling Stones and John Lennon songs :-) ) contributing. Any inappropriate COI material would be easily dealt with, and IMHO not likely to be a real problem in the first place, as Gowan is clearly notable, with plenty of sources and material about him. John Z (talk) 07:54, 6 August 2009 (UTC) Reply

As an aside, most consider that being a full prof at a real university is enough to avoid a speedy, prodding is much better. However, the original version did not make this too clear and was too discursive and cryptic.John Z (talk) 08:11, 6 August 2009 (UTC) Reply

• Peter Gowan Obituary, The Guardian
• London Metropolitan University Obituary
• Transnational Institute - Peter Gowan: In Memoriam
• Peter Gowan Obituary Debatte Journal
• Death of a comrade – Peter Gowan: 1946–2009
• Marx Site - An Appreciation
• Obituary - Peter Gowan (1946-2009)
• Peter Gowan, author of The Global Gamble Obituary
• Journal of Balkan and Near Eastern Studies Editorial on Peter Gowan
• Peter Gowan, Marxism and Geopolitics by Stathis Kouvelakis
• Peter Gowan’s Theorization of the Forms and Contradictions of US Supremacy: A Critical Assessment
• An appreciation of Peter Gowan's contribution to the field of International Political Economy
• Crisis in the Heartland - Homage to Peter Gowan by Adam Tooze
• The Peter Gowan Prize